Hayden was a CEO at four years old
Diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of two, the disease took his life at the tender age of four. It was at his funeral, listening to Hayden's 8 year old brother speak, that Dr. Jim Olson found himself laughing and crying along with the others in attendance. And it was at that moment that Dr. Olson, a trained pediatric brain tumor specialist, decided that his life would not be about promotions or manuscripts, or even about writing for grants. His life would be about searching for a means to keep other families from going through what Hayden and his family had gone through. From that day on, Hayden became the CEO of Dr. Olson's life. That rather makes him the CEO of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research lab at Children's Hospital and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, where Dr Olson now directs 15 others who, along with himself, are searching for clues in the battle against brain cancer.
Wanting to make decisions based on how he thought it might be possible to change the course of this disease, his team is making strides toward the goal of understanding brain cancer and finding a cure. We can only dream that in the future the words brain cancer will not even be a part of our vocabulary. Well, one can dream.
With ten years working at the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Lab at Children's and the Hutch, there have been successes. Some are very exciting.
One of the first tasks they faced was to correct models that were deemed flawed. What that meant was that they needed to better replicate the cancers that were actually occurring in humans. The cell lines used in research were not identical to the cell lines in the patients. Through means including taking tissue directly from the patient in the surgical room, the lab was able to accomplish that. Testing now became more applicable to humans.
Another piece of exciting news: One drug that has recently been tested on genetically engineered mice showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, 100% that did not get the drug therapy died from their brain cancer and 100% of the mice that did get the therapy were neurologically normal. They looked perfect. That treatment will hopefully be in clinical trial soon. Oh the possibilities!
And then there is the work being done with scorpion venom. From another study, it was discovered that scorpion venom attaches to brain tumors and not to the surrounding healthy brain tissue. When viewed under near infrared light, the tumor glows. One can almost imagine the excitement in the lab when they first saw the glowing cancer cells under the near infrared light. The potential for being able to see exactly what needs to be removed during brain surgery exists. They are calling this tumor paint. And the implications are wide spread. Imagine being able to take a pill and visiting the dermatologist the next day, with a hand held device, he would be able to see if something needed to be removed. Again, very exciting!
Another creation that has come from the lab is a needle that has microscopic holes in its sides. This allows the injection of a column of drug into a tumor. This insures that any reaction to the drug will be differentiated from normal tumor variation. Injecting up to five different drug therapies into the tumor, each into a different location, allows the doctor to see more easily, when the tumor is excised, which drug has the most detrimental effect on it. With that information, the doctor has more indication which drug therapy will have the most beneficial effect for the patient before the drug therapy even begins.
These are just a few of the exciting steps his lab has taken forward in the fight against cancer:
It once took Dr. Olson a full year to measure 3 genes. With the aid of a new machine, it is now possible to measure 25,000 genes overnight.
Cancer cells that are grown in dishes are now counted by a robot. What used to take half an hour per sample now takes 30 seconds.
In a room where they amplify DNA and RNA, there is a machine that can take 1 drop of blood and from one gene, an hour later, it has created a million copies.
Half of the equipment in the lab, many of the graduate students that staff the facility and the funds for advancing some of the more speculative testing that is done is made possible by donations from Seattle Children's guilds including our Circus of Dreams Guild. Their research lab has no revenue stream, no patients, no alumni and no product. The money we raise for research is used to fight the good fight against the enemy which is cancer.
Dr. Olson has the desire to move forward with his ambitious research and patients are the driving force behind him. With cancer, we have to be ambitious. We need to understand the enemy. It is a devastating disease that takes way too many lives.
Hayden will always be with him in his heart.
Personally, I think Hayden would give Dr. Olson a promotion. Any good CEO recognizes a valuable employee when they have one.
Circus of Dreams was founded in 2007 by Jenn Wrenn in collaboration with her sister Katy, who in July 2007 at age 28 was diagnosed with having brain tumors. 'I wanted to do something to inspire my sister -- and children battling cancer like her -- the same way she inspired me with her bravery', says Jennifer. Katy says of the project: 'when my sister offered me the chance to put together this benefit, it was the perfect opportunity to support research that's working to find better, safer treatments for kids. I think of it like this: Every dollar we raise puts us $1 closer to finding a cure..'